Environmental and aesthetic impacts of small docks and piers, workshop report: Developing a science-based decision support tool for small dock management, phase 1: Status of the science

Few issues confronting coastal resource managers are as divisive or difficult to manage as regulating the construction of private recreational docks and piers associated with residential development. State resource managers face a growing population intent on living on or near the coast, coupled with an increasing desire to have immediate access to the water by private docks or piers. (PDF contains 69 pages

Commercial Fishing Port Development in North Florida

The author has identified the following significant results. Seven major counties were examined: Escambia, Bay, Gulf, Franklin, Wakulla, Nassau, and Duval. Population and economic activity were reviewed, along with commercial fishing and port facilities. Recommendations for five northwest Florida counties were based on interpretation of aerial photographs, satellite imagery, an aerial survey site visit, and published data. Major needs in Pensacola included docking, ice supply, and net and engine repair services. Costs for additional docks, an ice plant, and gear storage were estimated at $3,658,600. Port users in Panama City identified additional docking and gear storage as primary needs, along with gear repair and a marine railway. Estimated costs for dock and gear storage were$2,860,000. Added docking, gear storage, and ice supply, as well as gear electronics and diesel repair were needed in Port St. Joe. Costs were calculated at $1,231,500. Franklin County has three ports (Apalachicola -$1,107,000 for docks and gear storage, Eastpoint - $420,000 for additional docks, and Carrabella -$2,824,100 for docks, gear storage, and ice plant)

Control of docks (Rumex spp.) in organic fodder production - a true bottleneck in organic farmed branded dairy and meat products

Control of dock species are a true bottleneck in the development of grassland based organic production in Norway. Rumex obtusifolius, Rumex crispus and Rumex longifolius are among the most important perennial weeds in grassland areas throughout the world. These docks are undesirable in grasslands because they decrease yields and reduce forage feeding value. Numerous farmers feel powerlessness regarding how to manage the Rumex problem. Some farmers continue conventionally farming instead of organic, although they generally are motivated for transferring to organic production, due to the dock problem. The main goal of the project is a high quality and stable production of regional branded dairy and meat products based on fodder from grassland with non-chemical control of docks. This is to be achieved through knowledge on important factors that influence severity of dock infestation, studies on weak growth stages of docks, evaluation of biological control of docks and a synthesis of various measures to control these weeds. The return of the efforts of the project is increased organic production of meat and dairy products

Cultural methods for controlling docks in organically farmed grassland (extension 1998-99) (OFT0115T)

Docks are considered to be one of the main weed problems of grassland. The absence of an effective non-chemical control may be a deterrent to organic-conversion for farmers accustomed to using herbicides for dock control. This work addresses this problem in the context of MAFF policy to encourage more farmers to adopt organic farming, and to encourage a reduction in the use of herbicides in farming generally. The project was based around hypotheses that physical techniques and management strategies can affect the relative competitiveness of docks within the grass-based sward, and that by exploiting this relative competitiveness the problem can be reduced or contained within acceptable limits. During the initial phase of the project (01/05/95 to 31/03/98) we investigated these hypotheses through a series of four linked experimental objectives. The results obtained during that period (i.e. the 1996 and 1997 seasons) were reported to MAFF in a CSG13 in 1998. In the case of two of these experiments in particular, it was apparent that the observation and recording periods were too short to draw meaningful conclusions, and that the value of the overall project would be improved by an additional recording period. This CSG13 updates the previous one and reports primarily on the results from these two experiments obtained during 1998-99 (the 1998 growing season). The outcomes of these two approaches (Objectives 2 and 3 on the original CSG7) are summarized below. Objective 2: Trials were carried out to determine the effects of using a mechanical soil aerator in spring, and its timing, on the subsequent development of docks in existing dock-infested areas of silage fields (action through stimulation of grass growth in spring through improved soil physical conditions, and/or potentially deleterious effect on docks by severing their rooting systems). The findings of this experiment during 1996 and 1997 were encouraging but showed the need for evaluations over a longer period than two years. The experiment was conducted in a situation where docks were increasing and dock ramet density increased on all treatments. The greatest increase occurred on the non-aerated control. The most significant effect resulted from the aeration treatment made in April (compared with June or April-plus-June). In the third year, 1998, there were no significant differences between the control and the three aeration treatments. Our overall conclusion from the three years of results with this technique on just one site is that it is a technique which offers some control of dock, but refining of the management guidelines and evaluation on a field scale on different soils are required. Objective 3: Micro-plot trials using transplanted, spaced dock plants (to provide uniform density in swards) were used to investigate the effects of a wide range of options for controlling dock plants by cutting. Treatments included cutting at different intervals and to different residual sward heights. Assessments of results from 1996 had shown that the proportion of dock in the total herbage DM was lowest in treatments which were defoliated at regular 4-5 week intervals, and highest under less frequently defoliated regimes which simulated silage and hay regimes. These assessments were repeated in 1997 and the differences widened. However, total herbage DM yield was also higher on the ‘hay’ and ‘silage’ treatments, though differences were proportionately less than for the dock component. The micro-plot trial recorded in 1998 had been established from dock plug plants transplanted in 1996 and recorded in 1997. This method proved to be an effective one for establishment of experimental dock infestations of uniform density needed for investigations of this type, and one that would be practicable if required on a larger scale. The more frequently cut treatments had the lowest proportion of dock in the total herbage harvested, though this was in Year 2 only. This was a very similar result to that from the similar trial that had been recorded during 1996 and 1997. It seems likely that the effects resulting from cutting frequency may be cumulative, and at least two years of the frequent cutting may be required before dock plant size and vigor is reduced. The duration of these trials has not been long enough to determine whether long-term frequent cutting can eventually result in the elimination of dock plants. The effect of cutting height, which had no significant effects in either year of the experiment recorded in 1996 and 1997, was a significant factor affecting docks in the second year of this experiment. The low cutting height was favourable to docks. It seems likely that docks either respond to the lower cutting height by morphological adaptation, or that the lower sward height reduces the relative competitiveness of the other sward components. The results obtained from this suite of experiments (including the objectives completed before 1 April 1998) indicate that physical methods have a role in containing dock problems to an acceptable level, particularly in ensuring that flowering and seed dispersal does not occur. If resources were to be available for future work our recommendations would include the following: (1) The use of the soil mechanical treatment has been encouraging though further on-farm field-scale evaluations and refinement of management guidelines are needed before this can be recommended for general use by farmers. (2) As frequency of defoliation appears to be a factor affecting growth of docks and their total contribution to the sward, there is a need to establish whether docks can be eliminated, rather than being kept at a manageable level of infestation, and the management factors and timescale associated with this need to be determined. (3) The effects of increased seed rate and cover crop on limiting the development of seedling docks at establishment (shown in sward box studies in the 1996-97 phase of this research contract) needs to be evaluated at the field scale and on different soil types

The Effects of Pattern Loadings on Reinforced Concrete Floor Slabs

Reinforced Concrete Reserach CouncilOffice of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army.General Services Administration, Public Buildings ServiceHeadquarters, U.S. Air Force, Directorate of Civil Engineering.U.S. Navy, Engineering Division. Bureau of Yards and Docks. NBy 3763

An Experimental Study of a Flat Slab Floor Reinforced with Welded Wire Fabric

Reinforced Concrete Reserach CouncilOffice of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army.General Services Administration, Public Buildings ServiceHeadquarters, U.S. Air Force. Contract AF 33(658)-47U.S. Navy, Engineering Division. Bureau of Yards and Docks. NBy 3763

Modeling Expected Travel Distances for a Common Warehouse Design with Multiple Docks

This thesis develops expected travel distance expressions for both single- and dual-command operations in a unit-load warehouse design with multiple docks. Storage racks are aligned perpendicular to the wall containing docks. Results are presented for continuous and discrete formulations. Because of the importance of how docks are located on a wall, different dock locations are investigated, including uniformly distributed docks along one wall, specified distances between adjacent docks located symmetrically about the mid-point of a warehouse wall, and any distribution of locations along one wall. Among the results obtained, we find that the width-to-depth ratio of the storage area (commonly called shape factor) that minimizes expected distance traveled is a function of the number of docks and their locations. We find that the spacing between adjacent docks and the distance the first dock is from either the left end of the wall containing the docks or the centerline of the warehouse can significantly affect the optimal shape factor. Two cases are treated for the distance between adjacent docks: a) the distance is a function of the width of the storage area or the width of the storage area is a function of the number of docks and the distance between them and b) the distance is a fixed value. In the former case, our results are consistent with those obtained by others; however, in the latter case, some of our results will be surprising to many who have studied similar design problems

Docks

Some very encouraging results have been obtained by spraying docks with a solution containing Dicamba. This herbicide was previously known as Banvel D and is distributed under the trade name of Banex, which contains 20 per cent, active ingredient

Residential Docks and Piers: Inventory of laws, regulations, and policies for the New England region

While the homes threatened by erosion and the developer illegally filling in marshlands are the projects that make the headlines, for many state regulatory programs, it’s the residential docks and piers that take up the most time. When is a dock too long? What about crossing extended property lines? And at what point does a creek have too many docks? There are no easy answers to these questions. At the request of the Georgia Coastal Management Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center published in April 2003 an inventory of residential dock and pier management information for the southeastern U.S. This inventory builds upon that effort and includes five New England states and one municipality: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and the Town of Falmouth, Massachusetts. Federal laws, state laws and regulations, permitting policies, and contact information are presented in a tabular format that is easy to use. (PDF contains 16 pages